ziggurat – n - A temple of Sumerian origin in the form of a pyramidal tower, consisting of a number of stories and having about the outside a broad ascent winding round the structure, presenting the appearance of a series of terraces.
I'm not going to try to match WolfJB's last entry. I'll just note that the Tower of Babel is the most famous example of a ziggurat and let it go at that. (The picture shows a reconstruction of Ur-Nammo, completed in the early 21st century BC, in what is now Iraq.)
